Blue Jays blindsided by Bautista's supposed vision issues

Sounds like an off-season sell job for the free agent slugger who happens to be looking for a place to play in 2018.

Hall of Fame baseball writer Peter Gammons suggested on MLB Network’s MLB Tonight this week that Bautista’s problems at the plate in 2017 may have been caused by something as simple as poor eye sight.

“(Bautista) finally took advice from friends and went and had his eyes checked. And the vision is just what his friends thought: really bad,” Gammons said. “So, now he’s getting used to his glasses — probably contacts.”

A couple of things here. The idea that any MLB team, particularly one like the Blue Jays, an organization that prides itself on its state-of-the-art high-performance department, would not test a player’s vision before the season — and, if there is a problem, during the season — is ridiculous.

Toronto general manager Ross Atkins was taken aback by what Gammons reported.

“We do tests for vision,” Atkins told Postmedia. “We test vision with all our players and we’re doing everything to stay at the forefront of that research.”

Bautista misses and reacts during a game on May 16, 2017 (VERONICA HENRI/POSTMEDIA)VERONICA HENRI/POSTMEDIA

Bautista is probably more attuned his body than most professional athletes. He has long been a player who explores cutting-edge technology and therapy to get his body in maximum condition and to keep it there.

But he’s also 37, an age when players — particularly power hitters — generally start to decline. Father Time waits for no man. Bautista’s batting average dropped to .203 last season and his OPS to .674, down from .817 in 2016 and .913 in 2015.

As for his eye sight, he still managed to record 84 walks in 157 games and was tops among Jays and 23rd in the majors with a walk percentage of 12.2%. So, you have to wonder about this eye problem.

Wouldn’t Bautista know if his vision is getting blurry or out of focus? If he did have a sight problem last season, the Jays’ high-performance department were derelict in their duties.

But, it seems, Bautista is looking for ways to make himself as attractive as possible to teams. Don’t forget, last month at the MLB Winter Meetings, Bautista’s agent Jay Alou said his client discovered what was wrong with his swing last year and, as Jays writer Ian Hunter pointed out, it seems like “Gammons is playing the part of a proxy for Bautista’s agent in an attempt to market Bautista as a ‘fixed’ player.”

The next thing you know they’ll claim they found Bautista’s “real” birth certificate and he’s only 29.

SALE? WHAT SALE?

The Canadian Press reported on Thursday that executives at Rogers Communications say there is no plan to sell the Jays. Reports surfaced last year that the company may have been planning to sell.

The future of the franchise was raised this week in Rogers’ fourth-quarter conference call and CFO Anthony Staffieri said there are no plans to sell.

Staffieri added, according to the CP report, that Rogers management would like to find a way for the value of the team to be reflected in parent company’s stock price.

BIAGINI PENCILLED IN

Atkins would not comment on reports that the Jays are interested in free agent right-hander Chris Tillman.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported on Sportsnet 590 The Fan that there has been some conversation between the Jays and the 29-year-old pitcher.

“There’s nothing I can say (about that),” Atkins said. “(But we are) looking to complement our pitching.” Right-handed pitcher Joe Biagini is the No.1 option to be the fifth starter at this point, though MLB Network has 23-year-old left-hander Ryan Borucki penciled in at that role for 2018.

Atkins said Borucki will likely start the season at triple-A after making a very successful jump up to double-A last year. In seven starts at New Hampshire, Borucki posted a 1.94 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 46.1 innings pitched.

“I think we’re excited about having a lot of different options and I think the most likely scenario is that Joe Biagini has a lead on that spot and we’ll look to see if there is a way to upgrade, complement, supplement,” Atkins said. “Ryan Borucki will most likely be in triple-A but we never limit anybody. He has some of the best intangibles of any our prospects.”

CRUZIN’ INTO SPRING

The Jays have signed RHP Rhiner Cruz to a minor-league deal and invited him to spring training. The 31-year-old Cruz was the top overall selection in the Rule 5 Draft by the Astros in 2011 and spent much of the two subsequent seasons in the pen.

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